


Mumble, Delegate, Ponder

by nagi_schwarz



Series: Juris Imprudence [13]
Category: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-10
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-06-01 12:24:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6519226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nagi_schwarz/pseuds/nagi_schwarz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the comment_fic prompt: <i>Any, any, When in doubt, mumble; when in trouble, delegate; when in charge, ponder. -James H. Boren</i> - a day in the life of three attorneys at Woolsey O’Neill & Weir. Rodney mumbles. Jack delegates. Elizabeth ponders.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mumble, Delegate, Ponder

There was a reason Rodney hated oral argument.  
  
Judge Thorsen peered over his glasses at Rodney. “And where in the statute does it state that premise, counselor?”  
  
Rodney fumbled for his glass of water, mumbled a, “One moment, your honor.”  
  
Zelenka popped up beside him, handed him a printout with a section of the statute highlighted, and scuttled back to his seat.  
  
Rodney scanned it, sipped his water, and then lifted his chin. “Subpart two, your honor, clearly states…”

*

“Jack,” Elizabeth said, catching him by the sleeve, “any word on that new bankruptcy attorney? John and Lorne have been pulling a lot of long hours, and if they both burn out then we’ll be out a bankruptcy attorney _and_ a tax attorney and one of our best paralegals.”  
  
Jack seriously doubted Lorne could ever burn out, but he said, “I’ll get right on it.” He hated hiring people. It was irritating.  
  
Elizabeth smiled at him. “Thanks. I knew I could count on you.” And she hurried on to her office, sensible shoes soundless on the carpet.  
  
Jack reached out and snagged Nyan, Jonas Quinn’s paralegal. If the guy could handle employment law, surely he could handle something like posting a job offer to...wherever attorneys looked for job officers.  
  
“Sir?” Nyan asked.  
  
“There’s something I need your help with,” Jack said.  
  
Nyan nodded earnestly. “Anything, sir.”  
  
Half an hour later, Tracy, the head secretary, knocked on Jack’s door. “Sir?”  
  
Jack lifted his head. “Yes?”  
  
“I spoke to Nyan. I sent a job posting in to the state bar. They’ll post it on their website and in the next issue of the bar journal. The job is also on several local and national job websites. And I put an ad in the newspaper, just in case.”  
  
Jack smiled. “Thank you.”  
  
And that was how a managing partner got things done. Later that day, when Jack saw Tracy again, Elizabeth was standing by her desk thanking her, and both women cast Jack knowing looks as he walked by. He shrugged innocently and went to find that one nervous little paralegal, Parrish’s botanist, to wrangle some flowers for an upset client.

*

Elizabeth stomped into her office with all the anger she could muster, closed the door loudly, and collapsed in her chair in giggles. Daniel was a very circumspect person, and everyone knew how he felt about Jack (because he’d shouted it for the entire office to hear over a month ago), but no one had known how Jack felt about him.  
  
Until now.  
  
Such a cliche, too, in the supply closet.  
  
The scream poor Katie Brown had emitted when she’d stumbled across them had probably been heard down on the first floor.  
  
When John and Rodney finally made their romance known (in the middle of Rodney’s polyglot argument with Zelenka), they’d at least had the sense to take a long lunch (and come slinking back later, trying to look embarrassed but too giddy with afterglow to quite pull it off).  
  
Elizabeth knew Jack had been married, had a child once, been a shining star in the military, so Daniel was a surprising choice, but a good one.  
  
Still, she’d had to lay down the law about appropriate behavior in the workplace (partially to keep Cam and Vala from getting any ideas about public displays of affection, partially to remind Lorne and the paralegals that if they were going to make bets about their bosses’ personal lives the should be less smug about collecting the winnings). She was one of the managing partners, after all.  
  
But the look on Katie’s face had been priceless.  
  
Elizabeth would arrange for some kind of training on sexual appropriateness in the workplace (i.e. sex in the workplace = inappropriate) and make sure Katie knew she could have time with the firm’s psychiatrist, Heightmeyer, whenever she needed it, on the firm’s dime.  
  
There was a knock at the door.  
  
Elizabeth smoothed her expression into one of calm professionalism. “Enter.”  
  
Lorne peeked tentatively into her office. “Ma’am,” he said, “are you all right?”  
  
“Just pondering,” she said.  
  
Lorne held out a plate bearing one of the cupcakes from the cupcake boutique around the corner. “I brought your mid-afternoon snack,” he said, placed it meekly on the corner of her desk, and vanished.  
  
Elizabeth reached for the cupcake and peeled the wrapper off one side, took a bite. It was good to be queen.


End file.
